Caught between two worlds: Gail Sorronda’s designs are plucked from a fantasy

If Brisbane’s fashion identity is characterised by anything, it’s colour. Bright tones, joyful prints: this is a city better known for light than shade.

Gail Sorronda has never been afraid to stand tall in the shadows, though. Since launching her namesake label 19 years ago, the Brisbane designer has set herself apart with a dark romantic style that rarely strays from black and white.

This palette – now synonymous with Sorronda’s name – will be on full display when she closes out this year’s Brisbane Fashion Festival, walking her latest collection Mestiza at the Designer Group Show on Thursday night.

Brisbane designer Gail Sorronda is best known for her exclusive use of black and white, elevated by textures, layering and contrasting materials. Credit: Jamila Toderas

“It’s exciting to be able to present things to your local community,” she says.

Staying true to form, Mestiza is an achromatic assembly of pieces, elevated by bold silhouettes, textures and contrasting materials rather than colour.

There are literal and metaphysical layers to unpack, reflecting the time Sorronda spent exploring her cultural heritage.

“I’m half Filipino, so this collection acknowledges some of my ancestral origins,” she says.

“Sometimes you don’t understand what rises to the surface subconsciously. I’ve been doing things [with designs] that I may not realise came from either a memory or from some sort of echo. I recognise these silhouettes now reflecting upon it.

“It’s funny how the tendrils keep circling back.”

Sorronda debuted her moody style nearly 20 years ago, walking her graduate collection Angel at My Table at Australian Fashion Week in 2005 after winning the Mercedes-Benz Start-Up Award.

It put the right eyes on the Queensland University of Technology graduate, but more importantly, validated her caught-between-two-worlds aesthetic and instinctual use of monochrome.

“I like creating order out of chaos in my mind. Even though things may not actually be chaotic … it’s like a palate cleanse,” she says of her near-exclusive use of black and white.

“I think there’s space for everything. Colour can be elevated as well. [But] more than anything, I’ve got my own signature.”

For Brisbane Fashion Festival director Lindsay Bennett, closing the festival with local talent of Sorronda’s calibre is testament to the city’s maturation – and a sign that our creativity has long been underestimated.

“Back when we started in 2006, I think we were still trying to find our own [identity]. People in other states were saying we can’t wear black; all we can do is wear colour,” Bennett says.

“I think we have evolved, and we’re continuing to evolve.”

This year’s festival promises to be the biggest yet, with a number of collaborations boosting its reach.

It’s partnering with QAGOMA for the Iris van Herpen: Sculpting the Senses Up Late program, with the Museum of Brisbane for an exhibition of MIKAs jewellery, and with Brisbane Festival for Jean Paul Gaultier’s Fashion Freak Show, launching on Friday night.

Of the Gaultier event, Bennett says: “I can’t think of a better way for us to be able to finish than with something that’s exclusive to Brisbane and Queensland.”

Brisbane Fashion Festival runs from Sunday, August 25 to Friday, August 30, leading into the launch of Brisbane Festival with Riverfire on August 31.